North Carolina Senate: Where do Richard Burr and Deborah Ross Stand on Abortion?

By Karen Cross, National Right to Life Political Director
Every election year, National Right to Life publishes downloadable comparison flyers about the various Senate candidates. The downloadable version for North Carolina’s “Where do the Senate Candidates Stand on Life?” is available here.

The candidates have very different views on abortion. Here is an overview of their positions on abortion-related issues.

Abortion on Demand

Richard Burr is pro-life. He opposes abortion on demand, and supports protection for unborn children.

Richard Burr co-sponsored and voted to advance the Pain-Capable Unborn Child Protection Act (H.R. 36), legislation to protect unborn children who can feel pain by prohibiting abortion at 20 weeks, a point by which the unborn child is capable of experiencing great pain when being killed by dismemberment or other late abortion methods.

Richard Burr supports the Dismemberment Abortion Ban Act, a bill to ban a common and brutal method of abortion in which the living unborn child is torn apart limb from limb.

In contrast, Deborah Ross supports a policy of abortion on demand, which allows abortion for any reason.

Taxpayer Funding for Abortion

Richard Burr is a co-sponsor of the No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act (S. 582), to establish a permanent policy against funding abortions and health plans that cover abortions, consistent with the principles of the Hyde Amendment, for all federal programs.

As a North Carolina state representative, Deborah Ross worked to continue the use of tax dollars to pay for abortion.

Parental Notice Before Abortion

Richard Burr voted for a bill to require an abortionist to notify at least one parent before performing an abortion on a minor girl from another state.

As executive director of the ACLU’s North Carolina chapter, Deborah Ross fought to overturn North Carolina’s parental consent laws.

Government Funding for Abortion Providers

Richard Burr voted for passage of a budget reconciliation bill (H.R. 3762) that would defund Planned Parenthood, the nation’s largest abortion provider.

Deborah Ross pledged to fight to continue providing government funds to abortion providers.

Obama’s Health Care Law

Richard Burr voted to repeal Obamacare, including the provision that has resulted in federal funding of about 1,000 health plans that pay for elective abortion. He is committed to reversing the abortion-expanding and rationing effects of that law.

In contrast, Deborah Ross supports Obamacare, which provides government funding for insurance plans that pay for abortion on demand, and imposes rationing of lifesaving medical care.

A downloadable version of the North Carolina Senate comparison flyer may be found here.